runlindsayrun

Weekend Update: Fabulous + Glorious Edition

I had low expectations for this weekend.

There. I said it. But here's the thing... I've been feeling the full effect of living with chronic illness. Geoff was scheduled to work nights all weekend (oh, the joys of loving - and living with - a trauma nurse). And, of course, we have a toddler. She's lovely, but SHE'S ONE. And therefore, a lot of work a lot of the time. Not exactly the ingredient for a super fabulous long weekend.

On Friday afternoon, I snuck out to cheat on my hairdresser. Oh yes, I did. And it was FABULOUS. I'm in love with my hair right now and I will be back. Scandalous! The only downside was that I had foxy hair and nowhere to go... But I think the mini-makeover (especially when coupled with my new glasses) set the stage for a much better weekend than I had originally anticipated.

Later that night, I invited a friend over for tea after all our kids were in bed. She came just after 8 and it was so much fun to have company on a night in Geoff's rotation that's sometimes pretty lonely. We had some great conversations and I crawled into bed feeling happy and relaxed.

The next day, Briony + I hit up Starbucks and the playground before heading home for lunch and a nap (for Briony, not for me... funny how that works). Anja came over in the afternoon and had a perfect afternoon of catching up and hanging out. After Briony's nap, we packed up the baby and the puppy and made another visit to the playground. Briony *loves* Anja's dog and was fascinated by the whole 'walking the dog' thing. When we got home, she wanted to try and proceeded to walk Luna around the living room - cutest thing ever ('come, woof' 'good!' 'over here' 'nice dog').

Just before 6 pm on Saturday, Briony asked to go to bed. Apparently, the two trips to the playground did her in... She was sleeping before Geoff left for his night shift and stayed sleeping all night. BIZARRE. I ended up watching a movie, talking to my brother, starting and finishing the laundry, eating a cupcake, cleaning up our bedroom, having a bubble bath, and finishing a fun book. Oh my gosh, what a fabulous night... It is my greatest wish for ONE of those nights every month. I felt positively HUMAN! It was glorious.

On Sunday, Briony + I headed out to Falcon Lake to spend some time with my parents and a couple of friends who joined us for the day. We stayed overnight and came back to the city after lunch on Monday - returning home just in time to leave Briony with Katie and head out to Assiniboine Park for a quick dinner and a movie with Geoff (we saw 'The Switch' and it was better than I'd expected... one of my favourite movies this year, actually).

So it was a good weekend. A really good weekend. And I'm realizing - in retrospect - that it was good because I chose to MAKE it good. It would have been perfectly valid to sit at home and be grumpy that my husband was working through an entire long weekend. But that's not the life I want to live, and we ended up finding some great little pockets of family time and snuck in some great memories with some great people all over the place.

I went to bed last night feeling happy and relaxed and ready for whatever this week will bring out way. I'd call that a successful weekend, by anyone's definition.

Labels: Anja, Briony, Family, Kathy, My Friends, The Boy, The Lake

posted by Lindsay @ 11:48 AM 1 comments

Friday Smile

Last night, I had an opportunity to do something kind of special. Emily + I attended my friend Anja's art show opening - 99 Pieces of Art on the Wall - at cre8ery. It was interesting to see the work of so many local artists in so many mediums, but what made it special was getting to see Anja's work in that setting. It was incredible to me that I could spot one of her photographs or paintings from across the room and know that it was hers. And I finally got to see her studio space there, which was very important to me.

Anja pursues creative expression like no one else I've ever met. It's so naturally and authentically a part of her, and it makes me so proud to be able to call her a friend (and so inspired to pursue new ways of expressing my own creativity in my own way). I'm also - somewhat selfishly - very excited that Briony can grow up around her Auntie Anja and be exposed to art in this way.

You can take a look at some of Anja's work on her Anja Studios blog. And definitely check out the show during its run between now and September 3.

Labels: Anja, Emily, My Friends

posted by Lindsay @ 11:02 AM 0 comments

Hmmm

I clicked on 'New Post' without really thinking about it, and now I'm not really sure what to say... That always makes for an awesome and interesting post, doesn't it? :P

Let's see. We had a good weekend here. Emily came over and spent time with Briony and I on Friday afternoon/evening while Geoff left for a night shift. After she left, I had big plans for the rest of the evening that involved the third season of Arrested Development on DVD and my lime margarita bath salts from Tiber River. Oh, and did I mention that my favourite popcorn bowl FLOATS?! Life is unbelievably awesome sometimes.

On Saturday, the Wright family made an appearance at my friends' Kris & Char's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and a beautiful day to honour probably the sweetest, most well-matched couple I've ever met. Every piece of their special day reflected them so perfectly, I couldn't help but smile. And it was a bonus that Geoff and I got to spend some time with a few other friends who were at the wedding. The reception was at the Heritage Centre in Niverville, so we even got to pop in and say hi to my grandparents who live in another part of the building.

Sunday was spent at Falcon Lake. We took a little road trip to spend the day with my parents - and it was another lovely, sunny day (who knew?!). We went for a walk, had lunch on the boardwalk, sat in the sunshine, read books, and barbecued dinner outside. It was everything I'd been needing and made me super-anxious for next week when Geoff, Briony, and I will be able to spend a few days out there on our own little mini-vacation.

And that's pretty much that... Geoff is working again tonight, but we had some good family time during the day today. I managed to read an entire 'fun' book this weekend (FINALLY got around to reading The Time Traveler's Wife, which has been sitting on my bookshelf for years and years - and was well worth the wait). And Anja came over for tea this evening, which totally made my day. I had intended to do all kinds of things today

I'm still feeling icky. I'm not even sure what to blame it on. I just know that I really want to feel better, and SOON. I see my naturopath on Saturday, and I can hardly wait to talk to her and have someone on my side trying to figure this all out.

Wow. I said a lot for a girl who had nothing to say :)

Labels: Anja, Briony, Emily, Family, My Friends, The Boy

posted by Lindsay @ 9:56 PM 3 comments

Weekend Update

Earlier this week, I received an absolutely adorable phone call from Anica, inviting me to come to her soccer game that evening. It hurt my heart to have to tell her no, but I had one of my wedding planning couples coming over to discuss details for their big day. I told her that she should try again, though... And that led to an absolutely adorable email later in the week, letting me know about another game on Friday.

Geoff was working Friday night, and a quick Google Maps search revealed that the location of her game was a mere 15 minute walk from our place. It was a gorgeous evening and an easy decision. I packed Briony up in her stroller and took her to her very first soccer game. She loved it. There was lots of running around and yelling - and even more attention from all the soccer players' little brothers and sisters (and Sophie and Mady). Of course, my little princess soaked it all up. It was nice to see Steve & Val and the girls, and it was amazing to see how much Anica has improved since the last time I attended one of her games. They're playing legitimate soccer already! And I was *so* proud of the way she chased down that ball. If I'm that proud of my little cousin, I think I'm in trouble when it's my child running around that field :)

We walked back home after the game (and after lots of extra snuggles and attention for Briony) and I put her to bed and climbed into a bubble bath with the new Candace Bushnell book. (I know it's not really that new anymore, but I'm still in that phase where I'm delighted to have time to read anything other than baby books and textbooks - so it felt new to me. It's the same kind of thing when I get to see a movie that's still showing in a theatre. Sad but oh so true.)

Geoff obviously spent the first part of Saturday sleeping after getting home around 08.30, and I had every intention of taking Briony for a walk - but I woke up feeling incredibly tired and achy, so I puttered around the house in my pyjamas until lunchtime and then started the process of getting our little family ready to leave for Kris & Kari-Ann's wedding. To my amazement, we left to pick up Kyle & Anja about five minutes earlier than scheduled. I haven't checked yet, but I'm positive there's some kind of award for that... Anyway. We roadtripped it out to Elm Creek, making all kinds of bets and predictions about what we'd encounter there. We were mildly disappointed by the lack of funny hats and cowboy boots, but realized immediately that we'd missed out on the ultimate 'prediction game' punchline: trucks in the parking lot! Ah, well. Next time (hehe).

It was a great wedding. Kari-Ann, Queen of Efficiency, could literally not have pared down that ceremony by a single second. Maybe if they'd RUN down the aisle? It was all official in under five minutes, and then the celebration could begin. We had lots of fun with Anja & Kyle, and little miss Scarlett was eager to show off her brand new walking skills. The place was swarming with small children, and Kari-Ann in all her wisdom had planned a little dance party for all the kids right after dinner (and before the big kids' dance got started). Brilliant. Even Briony was all smiles and squeals with her daddy helping her dance in a flurry of bubbles. We couldn't stay very late, but I trust the rest of the evening was just as fun.

After surviving last week and Geoff's ridiculously busy work schedule, I had declared days ago that Sunday would be a blank day for our little family. We lounged around all morning (and I caught up on the episode of So You Think You Can Dance episode that I'd missed on Thursday), then packed up and brought a picnic lunch to Assiniboine Park. Briony napped while we walked around the park later, then we came home and Geoff attempted to kill our yard's disgusting ant population while I made dinner.

The day's real drama came later, when Geoff met up with some of his friends for an hour or two to talk cars and they ended up back at our place to admire Geoff's seldom-used ride. His friend's cousin was there, and he began to salivate when he laid eyes on the car... He wants to buy it. Badly. It's honestly something that Geoff and I have not discussed - at least not until last night. We both know that it's highly impractical, just sitting in our driveway under a cover about 99% of the time - but it's something that makes him happy, and I would never ask him to get rid of it. It's totally his decision. But I can see how hard this decision is for him. And that kind of hurts my heart a little bit. This just might be the end of an era, even though the truth is that this era was over a while ago already. But it still doesn't make it easy to let go.

Anyway. Tonight is Date Night. My parents are coming to watch Briony, and Geoff and I are going for dinner and then to the Coldplay concert.

And then tomorrow, my baby will be SEVEN MONTHS OLD. It totally blows my mind. She's incredible... But more on that tomorrow :)

Labels: Anica and Sophie, Anja, Kari-Ann, My Friends, The Boy

posted by Lindsay @ 9:47 AM 2 comments

My Beautiful Baby Girl

A few highlights from our photo shoot with Anja on Sunday to document Briony at three weeks old. There were so many great pictures to choose from, I'm not sure how we'll decide on one for the birth announcement being designed this week...

And seriously, how much fun is picture number three? :)

Labels: Anja, Briony

posted by Lindsay @ 4:23 PM 10 comments

Belated

Anja came over this afternoon to take some pictures for Briony's forthcoming birth announcement, and she brought along the finished pictures from our maternity photo shoot this fall. I know I shared a few of the proofs that she rushed to us before Briony was born, but here are some additional highlights (you'll need to click through to the last part of the album): Maternity Photos on Facebook.

And a Briony picture from last week...

Labels: Anja, Baby Talk, Briony

posted by Lindsay @ 5:40 PM 5 comments

Family Pictures :)

A few weekends ago, Geoff and I spent an afternoon in Assiniboine Park with my friend Anja. Not only does Anja happen to be one of my favourite people in the world, she's also a phenomenal photographer. And she made time in her busy schedule to grab some maternity shots for us on the weekend of our first anniversary - making these photos extra-special to us.

I received a sneak preview of a few of the moments she captured that day... Enjoy!

Labels: Anja, Baby Talk, Friday Smile, The Boy

posted by Lindsay @ 12:40 AM 4 comments

A Lot Going On

It was a busy weekend. We started off by having Rocky over on Friday night to start on the rather substantial task of magically transforming the dark and gloomy mancave into a bright and cheerful baby room. I say 'magically' because I really can't take credit for any of the work.

Geoff and I spent a few hours with Anja in Assiniboine Park on Saturday, capturing some autumn-inspired maternity photos. Later in the afternoon, Rocky came back and worked on the baby room while Geoff tackled another coat on the exterior house trim. I occupied myself by making the boys dinner and keeping them company (read: probably annoying them by sitting right in the way and yapping while they were trying to be productive).

The baby room's looking great - and the paint job will be finished by tomorrow night. I'm so excited. Pictures to follow (baby room AND maternity).

Saturday ended with a phone call from my dad, confirming what I'd been kind of expecting all day. My parents were home from spending the day at the ER - for the third time in ten days. My mom's having a rough time with this round of chemo, and still having complications with her port. I don't know why I knew... I just felt it all day. So while it wasn't a surprise, it was definitely one of those times when I hated being right.

I'm not really sure what to say about today. I'm just not myself right now. I woke up feeling extra-emotional, and I'm pretty sure that's how I'll go to sleep tonight as well. First, it was off to Niverville to help lead worship one last time. It was hard to know that I was saying goodbye to the team (at least for a little while) but, honestly, it was harder to be up on stage and not have my mom in her regular spot. She's occupied that place over the last decade, singing along and cheering us on. It just felt strange to have her missing now at the end.

A few songs in, I noticed that my dad had snuck into the very back of the balcony. It meant so much that he came.

After church, I went to go spend some time with my parents. It went about how I had imagined it would. It's hard to see my mom this sick, and both of them so tired. I'm not really sure what else to say. I was emotional to begin with, and that time at home was just enough to break my heart. I think I cried all the way back to the city. It's just starting to feel like it's been a long time since we've heard some good news about my mom. And we all need it. It hurts so deeply for me to see my family like this. And I hate that there is absolutely nothing I can do to fix it, or even to help. I know that good days are coming again... I really believe that. But today was not one of them.

Geoff and I took his brother Kevin out for dinner this evening to (quietly) acknowledge his 32nd birthday. I felt bad that I was in such an introverted mood tonight, but fortunately Kevin's quiet enough that I *still* probably seemed chatty :)

I'm not really looking forward to tackling a Monday tomorrow morning. The idea's a little bit overwhelming. It's kind of relief to know that it's my second-last Monday morning for a while...

Labels: Anja, Baby Talk, Can You Handle The Truth?, Family, Rocky, The Boy, The C Word

posted by Lindsay @ 10:36 PM 0 comments

Road Trip!

Kari-Ann will be the first person to argue that a weekend afternoon drive to Elm Creek does NOT constitute a road trip, but Anja and I call it that anyway. Elm Creek is seriously in the middle of nowhere. And it feels like you're driving past farmland forever. In any case, we were there in less than an hour - and we spent a lovely afternoon visiting with new parents Kari-Ann and Kris. And of course, the person of the hour, the fabulous Miss Scarlett herself.

Okay. That is a seriously cute baby. She's so tiny and snuggly and makes the most adorable and hilarious monkey faces... We loved Scarlett on sight. Good work, kids.

Here. See for yourself.

Labels: Anja, Kari-Ann, My Friends

posted by Lindsay @ 10:24 PM 5 comments

Weekend Update: Zzzz... Edition

So this is a little more than a typical 'weekend update' - but I'll try to quickly get you all caught up on what's new in my life and on my mind lately.

Wednesday
Not a good day. It was a particularly exhausting day at work, and I was at the office much later than I'd hoped to be. We got the news about my mom's cancer just before 8 pm. I cried for a while, then clicked on the television to watch the American Idol results - only to watch 'my' Carly get unfairly voted off. Some days, you just can't win.

Thursday
Woke up to blizzard-like conditions at 4.45 am. Was ready and at the office by just after 6.00 am, and on the road to Kenora with three of my co-workers by 6.15 am - questioning our sanity for being on the roads at all for the first half-hour. Spent ALL day in meetings with a new client, and returned to Winnipeg around 7.00 pm. And all without coffee. I think I deserve a medal. Sleeping by 8.45 pm.

Friday
Slept through my alarm, and showed up 10 minutes late for my 8.00 am meeting (fortunately, I have amazing co-workers who are totally cool about things like that). Another ridiculously long day at work, capped off by a few hours of spring cleaning with the whole office, from 4.00 to around 7.15 pm (try to imagine how tired I was by this point). Sleeping by 9.00 pm.

Saturday
Inexplicably awake by 7.05 am. Dragged Geoff to a few garage sales in the morning (didn't find anything except a Michael Connelly paperback for 25 cents - perfect for the lake). I'd been hoping to start collecting some great kids books... But I'll keep trying all summer. Either that, or my baby will spend this winter hearing me read from the Winnipeg Free Press and Vanity Fair (which may not be the worst thing for developing a strong vocabulary). Met Anja for lunch at Stella's, then browsed the Urban Barn before we both decided to head home for naps. Met up with her again at 6.45 pm for the Moose hockey game in the evening. Arrived home around 11.30 pm, too tired for words.

Sunday
Um... Slept until 11.30. I wish I felt the tiniest bit bad about that, but I don't. I needed every moment of that amazing sleep. Had just enough time to get ready to meet the gang at Buccacino's to celebrate Paul's birthday. Spent the better part of the afternoon eating, relaxing, laughing, talking, and just generally catching up with Paul, Emily, Craig, Jeff, Rocky, Marie-Eve, and a few others (including my Geoff, who graciously sacrificed a good chunk of his post-night-shift sleep to be there). Headed home and threw on some sweats and running shoes and spent some time walking up and down Wellington Crescent with Geoff. We may have also stopped at Dorothy's for ice cream... Then came home, made dinner, read a pregnancy magazine, bawled through Extreme Home Makeover, giggled through Family Guy, and finally updated my blog while verrry much enjoying the new Madonna album. 8.45 pm. Definitely bedtime again... I'm so finished making excuses for all this sleep.

Labels: Anja, Cocoon, Emily, Weekend Update

posted by Lindsay @ 9:03 PM 1 comments

An Uncharacteristically Gushy Post About My Fabulous Friends

Last night, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting up with Anja (recently returned from Europe) and Kari-Ann (highly pregnant, but still pleasant to be around). We ogled Kari-Ann's shiny new engagement ring, mocked the accent Anja always comes home with after spending any amount of time with her family, and just generally discussed the state of our little circle.

In one whirlwind year, we've managed three engagements, two weddings, and two pregnancies between the three of us.

I honestly never thought when we all met working at an ad agency years and years ago (I guess around 8 years for Anja and I, and then Kari-Ann entered the picture maybe 5 years ago) that these would be the girls I'd be sharing all my big crazy life adventures with. But I'm so happy that's how it all worked out.

I love them. I need them. They're the perfect mix of understanding and unsympathetic - they'll let me complain and cry about whatever I need to, then ask if I'm done bitching and tell me to move on.

Oh, and Anja bought Geoff and I our first official baby toy - an adorable rattle with a bear and a butterfly (I'll post a picture later). Kari-Ann brought me my first official article of maternity gear, 'for when I start getting too fat to button up my jeans.'

Guess that means this is really happening! I'm so happy :)

PS - Update on how I'm feeling... Today is not as good as yesterday, but not as bad as the end of last week. I'll take it. Breakfast was out of the question today, but I've spent the morning happily working my way through the soy chai latte Geoff brought me this morning that's literally the size of my head. I'm hoping and praying that the nausea is winding down, but I haven't really gained weight yet - so maybe it's not all bad?

Labels: Anja, Baby Talk, Kari-Ann, My Friends, My Life

posted by Lindsay @ 11:40 AM 2 comments

The New Plan

If you - or someone you're very close to - hasn't been sick, you won't get it. But I grew up being constantly approached by well-meaning acquaintances who were absolutely convinced that whatever they sold would fix me right up. It got to the point where I became skeptical of pretty much anything that wasn't doctor-recommended. Sad, because I probably missed out on some solid alternative therapy ideas. I just couldn't deal with it anymore.

Which is maybe why I have waited this long to trust a combination of herbal supplements and a quasi-extreme diet to keep my symptoms at bay. But after January's no-good-very-bad drug experiment, I felt like this was necessary. And so, beginning on Saturday, I have embarked on a journey scheduled to last around six months - I have committed to taking a ginormous mountain of supplements three times a day and following a strictly outlined nutrition plan, in hope that this might succeed in making me healthy.

I'll let you know how it goes. As if you had any doubt :)

By the way, if you feel like going the extra mile and supporting me in this (and if you're anticipating dining with me at some point in the near future), feel free to request The List and I'd be happy to email it to you.

Oh, and encouragement would be acceptable also. AHEM, Anja and Kari-Ann. Not that I didn't LOVE your comments about how disgusting my non-sushi meal looked compared to your Japanese delicacies last night...

Labels: Adventures in Alternative Medicine, Anja, Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, Kari-Ann, My Friends, My Life

posted by Lindsay @ 8:28 AM 3 comments